An O'Neill Boys' Thanksgiving
by Vinividivinci
Summary: Jack is left to prepare for Thanksgiving with his boys.  A short add-on to my "To Love is to Live Forever ... Family' Series


_**A little continuation of my **__**To Live is to Love Forever … Family**__** Series in celebration of the upcoming holiday. I may leave it at this chapter or add another one (Thanksgiving with the gang) if people want. Let me know. **_

"Okay guys, help me out here. Cranberry sauce – check."

A squeal sounded from the table, closely followed by a second one.

"Sweet potatoes – check."

More squeals.

"Veggies – okay, I know – not so much fun – but Mommy says we have to."

This was followed by shouts of "Ma Ma". He grinned, looking at the two identical little faces watching him as he wrote his grocery list.

"Pumpkin pie – yum – oops can't forget the whipping cream and the ice cream."

That brought a series of bounces along with the squeals. Ice cream was the one thing Sam had let the boys try and they loved it. Wait till they tried pie!

"Okay, stuffing – I'll have to pick up the bread and make Grandma O'Neill's favorite stuffing! And of course", and here he looked up and spoke directly to the boys, "the piece de resistance – the **turkey!"**

"Ya, ya, ya, ya," sounded from the boys. They didn't have a clue what turkey was, but they'd caught the excitement from their Da. If he liked turkey then so did they – since he was the best thing in the world (along with MaMa of course).

"So, all done. I guess we can pack up and head out. You guys will have to help me pick the stuff you know. This is your first official Thanksgiving – at least that you can sit up for – and you have to help me. The O'Neill men are going to put together one heck of a Thanksgiving. Mommy won't know what hit her."

Sticking the list in his back pocket, Jack walked over to the highchairs where the boys had just finished their breakfasts. Quickly grabbing a face cloth he wiped their dirty little faces and hands.

Releasing David he put him down and then took Daniel from his chair. The boys made a quick dash for the hallway.

"Hey, come back you two. We have to get our coats on – it's chilly out there." He ran after the boys, again thanking his lucky stars that he was young enough to handle chasing after twin balls of energy. God knows what he would have done if his youth hadn't been restored. And now, with another baby on the way – he was going to need all that youthful energy. Even so, the boys exhausted him.

Poor Sam, she had it even worse. Seven months pregnant, she was completely wiped after a day looking after the boys. She actually found it restful on the days she went in to work.

It was two days till Thanksgiving and they were hosting the event for their friends, who were coming to celebrate with them. Unfortunately, Sam had been called to the SGC for a few days to help with some technical problems with the gate that only she seemed able to fix. You'd think that after all these years there'd be someone else who could do it, he grumbled to himself!

In reality, he knew there _**was**_ someone else – many someone elses, although he'd pretended to be unaware of that fact. Actually, Sam knew that he knew – he was the head of Homeworld Security after all – it was his business to know these things. But, she had needed a break so he hadn't said anything – just agreed that she should go. He'd insisted that she be beamed over, though, as he didn't want her flying this late in pregnancy.

As soon as he'd agreed Sam had made it very clear that it wasn't that she disliked her life. On the contrary – she loved almost everything about it - it was just that she'd been tired and house bound with two energy-filled toddlers and she needed a break.

He'd been happy to let her run off and play for awhile, knowing that when the baby came she'd be even more stuck in-doors – especially as the baby was due in February when the weather could still be bitter in Washington.

So, here he was, playing 'house Daddy' until she got back. It was totally okay with him. He cherished the time he spent with his sons and was just as happy to be away from the Pentagon for a few days.

He'd thought, when he'd first returned from their adventure, that he would look for some other kind of work. He was tired of the military life – of constantly being worried about the imminent destruction of everything they knew, of dealing with 'bad guys' and 'evil aliens'. The fact was, he didn't know what else _**to**_ do. He'd thought about exploring other opportunities but frankly, was scared. What if he couldn't do anything else? Sam laughed when he'd confessed that to her – she had a lot more confidence in him than he did himself.

Anyway, it meant that he was still head of Homeworld – still going in to the Pentagon everyday. There'd been rumblings over the fact the Jumper was going to retire. He knew he was one of the candidates (he'd even seen that whole scenario on Trelea) but he really, really didn't want the job. He'd seriously been thinking about working at 7 Eleven. No stress!

The boys were starting to get antsy, jumping around and getting loud. He knew it would soon lead to trouble unless he focused their energy. So, bundling each of them up in their warm coats he hauled them off to the van. Placing them in their car seats they were off to the grocery store! This should be fun.

Now, Jack had clashed with Iraqis, battled Goa'uld, fought Replicators, killed System Lords, destroyed Unas, beaten the Ori, etc, etc, etc,. He quickly realized that they were nothing – they were child's play. What had he thought – that somehow he was a galactic hero who could handle everything?

Wrong!

He finally realized he had met his match. He was defeated, vanquished, beaten, bested, outdone. Yes – what the entire race of Iraqis, Goa'ulds, replicators, unas, and Ori had been unable to accomplish – two sixteen-month-old boys had done in one afternoon.

**Never, never, never take two toddlers to a grocery store right before a major holiday!** Why had no one told him this? Had Sam been keeping it a secret? The parent books didn't say anything about it. Did everyone know this but him?

As he struggled out of the store with a cart full of groceries (he wasn't even sure if he got the right things – his shopping had become frantic at the end) and two screaming boys, he wished he were back on some alien planet fighting for his life. It was easier.

Bearing the looks of all the old ladies who a) thought he was a bad parent who didn't discipline his spoiled children, b) a bad parent who was too harsh on his little angels or

c) an incompetent boob who shouldn't be allowed to look after children at all, he headed towards the van.

He got one look of sympathy, obviously from another Dad who'd 'been there, done that' (why didn't you tell me, was his look in return), he finally got to the car and unlocked the door. Quickly placing the groceries in the back he then grabbed Daniel and put him in his seat – the wails grew louder. He then turned to his brother and pulled him from the cart – or at least he tried. He'd forgotten to undo the damn seatbelt. This, of course, caused David to scream even louder. He acted as if the damn thing had ripped his legs off.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I forgot". Reaching down he tried to undo it but David was wiggling so much he couldn't grab the buckle. He finally undid it and pulled him out, getting the little boy's foot caught and pulling off his shoe, which, of course, dropped into a puddle. He put him in his seat, or at least he tried, but David had other plans. Arching his back he refused to sit down. He then twisted around as if trying to flee this horrible monster who claimed to be his Daddy.

Jack had a fleeting moment of wishing things were the way they were before children. Being single and free suddenly sounded oh so attractive. He knew that it wasn't true – he loved his family dearly – but right now he seriously wished he was back on Netu, all by himself!

Finally! He got David settled enough to do the buckles up. Of course all that did was cause the crying to grow louder. Now they were screaming in harmony with each other. Where was Mommy when you needed her!

He tried to bribe the boys by offering them each one of their teething biscuits. They were quickly thrown far away as both boys recognized them for what they were – an attempt by Daddy to get them to be quiet.

He handed them their teddy's – those quickly followed the biscuits. Juice? He managed to grab the sippy cups before they went flying through the air too.

Who were these children, he wondered? Had someone switched them up with aliens while he wasn't looking? Now, he knew his boys weren't perfect, but usually they were extremely happy, sweet natured little guys. Right now they were acting as if possessed.

"Maybe I should look at your necks", he muttered. Could it be that a couple of rogue Goa'ulds were on earth and had taken control of the boys?

'Okay, that's it!" he shouted. That stopped them cold – for all of three seconds. They knew their Daddy much too well. He'd never hurt them so they started up again at precisely the same moment.

"God!", he looked up. "Where are you when I need you?' Finally giving up, he slammed the side door closed, picked up the soggy shoe and got into the front seat. Starting the car he pulled out of the driveway and headed home, accompanied by the cacophonous sounds of screaming children.

It was just a quick trip to the store. Nothing to it – Sam does it all the time. Why? Why did it go so bad so fast? It must have been that old lady who offered them lollipops, he thought. He'd thanked her but said no. Sam didn't want them having candy yet. The boys started to whine. They didn't know what lollipops were but they'd looked bright and fun – and the lady was going to give them one.

Or maybe it was the ice cream isle, he pondered. When they saw the container they'd started a chorus of "keem, keem". Of course he'd said no, they couldn't have it now – not until they got home. Sixteen-month-old toddlers do not understand the concept of 'later'. That had turned the whining to whimpering.

The final straw had been the brussels sprouts. Go figure – who woulda thought – vanquished by little baby cabbages! He'd pulled the cart up beside them to grab a bag. Sam loved his cheese and nutmeg Brussels sprouts – a recipe handed down from his great grandmother. As he loaded the bag he took his eyes of the boys for _**one simple nano-second!**_ Yes, that was all it took. David, the closer of the two, reached out and grabbed the cute little vegetables. Daniel couldn't reach so started to screech. By the time Jack turned around millions (he swore it was millions) of the damn things had cascaded down from the neat pile and were rolling all over the produce section. A very – large – lady in polyester pants had slipped and fallen. When she pulled herself back up she'd proceeded to rant at him about what horrible little demons he had. He refused to take that and had told her, in no uncertain terms, what he thought of rude people who presumed to know anything about raising twin boys. It had almost escalated into a shouting match until he realized the Daniel and David were now gleefully hucking Brussels sprouts at each other. By this time the store manager had come up and was trying to restore order.

Jack reached over and grabbed the sprouts out of his sons' hands. That instantly turned the happy squeals to cries. They'd gone from whining, to whimpering to out and out hollering in one shopping trip!

He tried to calm them down but they were irate at the loss of their newest plaything. He'd eventually gotten angry at them and shouted – to the chorus of suggestions from people around him all telling him how to raise his children – and to absolutely no affect as far as those same children were concerned. When one person told him he should 'take the belt to 'em" he'd turned around and glared at the man with all his 30 plus years of command experience behind him. The man had stuttered and turned away, muttering "young punks – think they know better than us how to raise kids!"

The store manager had asked him to leave! He had never been so angry, so embarrassed, so humiliated in his life. He turned and pushed the cart towards the check out – wanting nothing more than to leave the store. Be damned if he ever came back to this one again - unless he brought Teal'c with him – that would shut them up!

As he drove home, the boys still hollering in the back seat, he wished for nothing more than Sam to be waiting. He needed her, he wanted her, he ached for her! He wanted Mommy!

Finally, they arrived at the house. He pulled into the driveway and got out. Slamming his door, he hesitated just a minute before opening the back sliding door. Just one more second of peace, he said to himself. Realizing he couldn't leave the boys in the van he reached down and pulled it open. Blessed silence met him. He looked in shock – and awe – the boys were both sound asleep.

How does one go from screaming tantrum to deep sleep in 30 seconds, Jack wondered? Oh well, better just enjoy it! He carefully reached over and undid David's belt and lifted the little boy up. Closing and locking the door with Daniel inside, he raced into the house and laid his one son down. He then quickly returned and retrieved Daniel. After he got the boys inside he took both of them upstairs, one by one, stripped them of their coats and laid them in their cribs. Closing the blinds and turning on the monitor, he left them to their evil – no, really – to their sweet dreams.

Running downstairs he got the groceries and brought them back in the house. As he started to put them away he couldn't help but chuckle. Okay, he bought pumpkin – that was good, and he'd got the turkey. He'd also purchased three boxes of cereal (the kind they didn't eat), four cans of 'Hearts of Palm' – what the hell was that; radishes – who ate radishes for Thanksgiving; and a box of tampons. Nowhere in the groceries were any loaves of bread, sage, onions – and certainly no Brussels sprouts (he didn't think he could look at those for a long, long time). Instead of cranberries he'd bought blueberries (blueberry sauce?). He had purchased five bags of fish crackers. Why hadn't he given those to the boys, he wondered? They loved them. So did he, now that he thought about it.

Putting the groceries away he grabbed a bag of the fish crackers (the really cheesy ones) and a coke and went into the family room and turned on the TV. Maybe there was a rerun of a hockey game or something he hoped. Sitting down in the chair he leaned back and popped a few crackers into his mouth. Just then, the phone rang.

"Hello", he answered, his voice muffled with little fish.

"Jack, hi sweetheart it's me." Sam's voice traveled sweetly over the phone. "How's everything?" she asked.

"Just fine", he answered. "The boys and me had a great day – we went shopping for Thanksgiving. It was great."


End file.
